What The Newest Character On TWD Has In Common With Carl Grimes

“I remember getting into the cafeteria. Andy [Lincoln] was there and he’s kind of the big senior in the high school,” joked Avi Nash. “He’s like, ‘Come here, sit down,’ and we had this great, one-on-one lunch. Ten minutes later and he was shooting at me and I’m flying into a car (which we cut for some reason).”

The Walking Dead | Photo Credit AMC

Avi Nash is the new kid over at “The Walking Dead High,” but he’s already got a major role on the show. As Saddiq, the actor has been featured in “Mercy,” “The King, the Widow and Rick,” and the finale, “How It’s Gotta Be.”

More importantly, Carl Grimes may have died for this new character. Recently, Avi Nash said Carl and Saddiq were “of the same cloth” on Talking Dead.

Avi Nash Joins The Walking Dead Cast

The Walking Dead | Photo Credit AMC

Avi Nash said he was told nothing about the role. Essentially, he arrived on set and he was soon smashing walkers into trees and giving amazing monologues. Truly, this is one of the more interesting views on walkers.

For Saddiq, killing walkers is freeing their souls. This is a way for the new guy to honor his parents. Sadly, his parents had died previously. With that in mind, Carl Grimes quickly gravitated to this character, as he too tries to honor his mother every day.

This time, Carl Grimes did something foolish, even though he did it to connect with someone on an emotional level.

Chandler Riggs Talks Working With The New Guy

The Walking Dead | Photo Credit AMC

In response, Chandler Riggs said, “Since Carl’s mom told him you gotta do what’s right, that’s definitely stayed with him. We can tell that because he’s constantly been trying to do what’s right and honor [Lori] the way that Saddiq is honoring his parents.”

At some point, during their “honoring” scene, Carl got bit on the torso. After the scene, Carl made it clear that Saddiq was his responsibility. The boy was doing things for the right reasons, but those reasons got him killed.

Now, we’re left with Saddiq. Currently, we don’t know a ton of this character’s backstory. Hopefully, we’ll find out more in the second half of season 8. During the trailer, there’s definitely a moment between Daryl and Saddiq.

Recently, we saw the two are walking into the woods together. As a result, this makes us think Saddiq may have something to offer the group.

New around here? Sign up for our email list (only 1-2 a week; I promise!), and get our exclusive FREE ebook, “Heroes of The Walking Dead: Character Guide”, to keep you abreast of all the characters going into Season 9A.

From Carol to Daryl to Carl, all of the characters from Season 8 are included.

Whether it’s time for a refresher before the season premier, or a Cliff Notes-style guide for new fans, this ebook checks the boxes for all TWD fans.

Brock Swinson is a contributor at MMN, Airows, and Creative Screenwriting Magazine. He is also the author of 'How Hollywood Screenwriters Annihilate Writer's Block,' which includes advice from Aaron Sorkin, William Monahan, and Cary Fukunaga. Get it for free or listen to interviews at the "Creative Principles with Brock Swinson" podcast on the website above.

New around here? Sign up for our email list (only 1-2 a week; I promise!), and get our exclusive FREE ebook, “Heroes of The Walking Dead: Character Guide”, to keep you abreast of all the characters going into Season 9A.

From Carol to Daryl to Carl, all of the characters from Season 8 are included.

Whether it’s time for a refresher before the season premier, or a Cliff Notes-style guide for new fans, this ebook checks the boxes for all TWD fans.